Homegrown keeper makes grand debut in SEA football

MANILA, Philippines - Just like the Azkals made the previous AFF Suzuki Cup their coming-out party, homegrown Filipino custodian Eduard Sacapaño used the 2012 edition of Southeast Asia’s premier bootfest as his moment to shine.

Thrust into the starting position in the absence of fancied keepers Neil Etheridge and Roland Muller, Sacapaño took on the task with gusto and steadily provided a solid presence in the post as the Azkals came tantalizingly close to a historic finals stint.

For his efforts, the 31-year-old Sacapaño has earned the respect of fans and players alike, and a football website even named him among the Top 5 goalkeepers of the tournament.

“We know the Philippines is missing their goalkeeper (Etheridge) but this goalkeeper (Sacapaño) was outstanding during the tournament,” said Singapore defender Daniel Bennett.

Sacapaño first introduced himself to the Lions by making save after save in the Azkals’ 1-0 win in a pre-Suzuki Cup friendly in Cebu.

In the actual Suzuki Cup, he kept clean sheets against Vietnam (1-0), Myanmar (2-0) and Singapore (0-0) sandwiched between a 1-2 setback to Thailand in the opener of the group stages and 0-1 loss to Singapore in the second leg of the semis.

Singapore-based website Goal.com, ranking every player in the Suzuki Cup, gave Sacapaño an average rating of 2.80 out of 5, listing him as the fifth-best goalkeeper in the bootfest.

“A late addition to the Azkals starting XI, Sacapaño saw action only after regular first choice, Neil Etheridge was not released by Fulham FC. But the 31-year-old proved his worth when he shut out Singapore in a friendly match in Cebu prior to the Suzuki Cup,” Goal.com wrote of the Ilonggo..

“In the tournament proper, Sacapaño held his own against the likes of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Singapore, keeping three consecutive clean sheets after the opening round defeat to the hosts. Khairul Amri’s stunning winner in Singapore ended the run and knocked out the Azkals,” it added.

Ranked ahead of the Filipino custodian were Malaysia’s Farizal Marlias (3.25), Thailand’s Kawin Thamsatchanan (3.20), Singapore’s Izwan Mahbud (3.10), and Indonesia’s Wahyu Tri Nugroho (3.00).

Azkals manager Dan Palami earlier said they were glad that Sacapaño had stepped up and gave them somebody to count on as a go-to goalkeeper even without Etheridge.

The Azkals prepared long and hard for the 2012 Suzuki Cup campaign in an effort to show their Last-4 stint two years back was no fluke. They made a return trip to the semis and had a shot at a historic finals appearance, needing only a scoring draw in the second leg against Singapore, but failed to cash in on the few chances they had.

“It was good that we proved ourselves again and showed we could again reach Best-4 in Southeast Asia but of course, we’re not happy we did not enter final even if the chance was there,” said coach Michael Weiss.

“We have to take this as lesson we have to learn to become stronger in coming years, although we don’t have too much time to mourn or talk about this as we have to prepare seriously for a very important tournament in three months’ time in the Philippines – the qualifying of the AFC Challenge Cup,” Weiss added.